I'd Give Up The World For You

Silas kept a close eye on his friend the next several days. Blaze had to teach all of the newly promoted officers how the military paperwork system worked, fire a bunch of servants who refused to switch their loyalties and make sure new ones were hired, get the prisoners moved to an actual prison, and more. 

He managed to keep his composure very well for the most part but Silas happened to overhear something he was certain Blaze hadn't wanted anyone to know when he went looking for him at one point. He was down in the dungeons not long before the prisoner transfer was meant to happen and was left alone with General Pace after the Gray Skull had taken everyone else away. 

"You played your cards very well, Rukelion Blaze," he said bitterly. "No one ever saw your takeover coming. Now we all have to spend the rest of our lives in prison simply for doing our jobs."

Blaze's voice was deadly when he replied. "Your jobs? YOUR JOBS resulted in the deaths of everything and everyone I loved! You brutally slaughtered men, women, and children indiscriminately and you think living in prison is a bother?!

"I could have killed you. I should have. I could easily burn you so thoroughly not even your ashes would ever be found, just like the crown prince, but I didn't. I still could if you test me! No one would ever know."

"You wouldn't dare!" General Pace said nervously. 

A moment later he yelped in pain as Blaze reached through the bars and closed a hand around his wrist, searing the flesh where he touched it. The burning smell made Silas's stomach turn. 

"There's nothing I wouldn't dare to do," Blaze hissed. "To beat a monster you have to become one yourself. Feel lucky I'm only doing this much." 

He walked away from the cell and spoke to one of the mercenaries before General Pace, who could no longer move the arm that had been burned, was taken away. The sight of the festering red and black flesh nearly made Silas lose his lunch. 

He knew Blaze's hatred for everyone involved in the genocide of his people ran deep but this was the first time he had seen it in action rather than simply hearing about it later. Suddenly, he wondered how much the crown prince and his entourage had been made to suffer before they were disposed of. 

The humane thing to do would be to kill them quickly then get rid of any evidence of the bodies but after that little display he highly doubted that was what happened. Rather than being run through with a sword first there was a good chance they had been burned alive. 

Silas decided the best course of action was to pretend he hadn't seen anything. Blaze's anger was justified and he didn't hurt people who didn't deserve it. 

He would be a better king than the last. Of that Silas was sure. He wouldn't have followed him all these years if he hadn't been. He could put what he saw behind him knowing it was likely stress induced after what he had seen the night of the coup. 

Blaze was unraveling from the weight of the nightmares he had been reliving. Had he gotten a decent night's sleep at all since it happened? He acted as he always did in front of his men but that couldn't change the dark circles under his eyes. He needed Veronica here to bring him back from the brink. 

Silas would do his best to lighten his friend's load in the meantime but what he really needed was his wife. Based on everything he had seen, she was his light in the darkness. 

Veronica's reaction to all of this could make or break him right now. He seriously hoped she was able to accept it all as easily as Elaine had. Blaze needed that from her before he cracked from the stress and sleep deprivation in front of someone important. 

=== 

Daisy backed away from Rukelion in fear. "You're a monster! Look at what you did!" 

He desperately tried to explain himself, panic flooding through him. "I only did what I had to! My family…my people…they needed me to do this!" 

"And I needed you to be there for me but you failed. You killed me, Leo!" 

He was ready to say that he hadn't—she was standing right in front of him—but didn't get the chance. Without warning, his wife was impaled on the thorn of a monstrous plant and her blood spattered the ground. 

The Mirean king's horrid laughter rang in his ears as he struggled to get to her. It was like trying to wade through molasses. He had to get to her…there had to be a way to save her…but there wasn't. She was dead right alongside the rest of his family. Blood poured out of all of their bodies and rose up higher than his neck, choking him. 

A moment later Rukelion woke up drenched in sweat clutching the sheets and frantically looking for Daisy. Then he remembered she was visiting Ira. 

His heartrate refused to slow despite knowing this. She was fine. Just because she wasn't currently in his line of sight didn't mean she was dead. She would be coming back to him. It had been nothing more than a stupid dream. 

A stupid, terrible dream. He hadn't had a good night's rest since the coup. Nightmares like these were common. Either he relived his family's deaths, watched Daisy die, or both. The stress of having to tell her the truth must be getting to him. He hadn't had nightmares this consistently for years. 

That wasn't the only thing Rukelion was stressed about either. He had a lot more work on his plate as a king than he had as a lieutenant colonel. 

At least he had managed to redecorate the bedrooms and throne room since that was where he would be spending most of his time. The crest of Katalya now hung next to the Mirean one and he had gotten someone to make new thrones that looked like the ones his parents had used. 

Daisy would sit there next to him when she returned…provided she was willing to hear him out. He wanted to believe in his wife's love for him but he was absolutely terrified of losing her over this even if he wouldn't admit it to Conrad. 

Rukelion would feel so much better if she was safely where he could see her. He might actually be able to get a few hours of sleep that way too. 

She should be returning within the next few days but in the meantime he had to push his worries aside and focus on the now. He had a lot to do and needed to be in peak condition to handle it. 

"Your Majesty, there is a rather urgent matter of business to attend to," Ferguson said apologetically after he was admitted into the room. Addressing him so formally clued Rukelion into the seriousness of the situation. Someone had come looking for him. 

"Who is here to see me?"

Ferguson seemed surprised he managed to guess what the urgent business was right away. "Chancellor Hayward, sire. He wanted to come check on the king but…"

But the king had been replaced. Turning him away would be suspicious and the news would have gotten out sooner or later. It was for the best to try and be diplomatic with the nobles and senior officials around here. 

Worst case scenario, they would all get tossed in prison too. It wasn't like anyone was powerful enough to truly go against him. He could handle anything they could throw at him but preferred to try and make a good impression first. Diplomacy was his father's way. 

"Send him in," Rukelion ordered. 

Ferguson nodded before going off to fetch him. A few minutes later he returned and announced the Chancellor's arrival. "Your Majesty, the chancellor is here." 

"Thank you, Ferguson. Guard the door, will you? I would like to speak to him alone." 

"Yes, sire."

He bowed instead of nodded this time since they had an audience. The chancellor was a shrewd old man and didn't visibly show his shock at a stranger sitting on the throne. He likely knew that wouldn't be in his best interest. 

Instead, he very calmly bowed and acted as if nothing unusual had happened. "This humble servant greets His Majesty. If I may be so bold, you look so much like your father I thought I had traveled back in time." 

Definitely shrewd. He had noticed the Katalyan crest and recognized it on top of the rather unique features that resembled Baratheon Blaze. He was trying to flatter his new monarch, likely to avoid being killed. Not a bad strategy. Though if he knew what Rukelion's father looked like he had to have met him at some point. Perhaps he was even involved in the slaughter personally. 

His blood boiled but he had to force himself to remain civil and in control. If this man didn't wind up in jail he would certainly go blabbing to the others who had held power in this country about what the new king was like.. He had to make a good impression even if it did make him feel sick.